Mississippi high schools lead the nation in most taken in NFL draft per capita

When you think of the states known for their high school football, Texas, Florida and California probably come to mind first.

According to research provided by USA Football, of the 253 players taken in this year’s NFL draft, Florida leads the nation with 35 of its former high school players being selected, compared to 27 for California and Texas.

However, broken down per capita, the state that leads the nation with the most NFL draftees is Mississippi. The Magnolia state had eight players drafted, giving it one NFL draftee for every 370,912 people, which though still long odds, that figure is roughly 3.29 times more likely than the national average.

Louisiana is next with one draftee per every 412,125 and tiny Delaware, with two NFL draftees, is next with one draftee for every 448,967 people.

As for the hottest high schools for NFL draftees this year, Lakewood (St. Petersburg, Fla.) tied with Serra (San Diego) for the most with three draftees each. Since it opened in 1996, Lakewood has had 15 players taken in the draft, including 11 since 2006.

Interestingly enough, Lakewood has yet to win a state title.

The breakdown of the 12 high schools that had multiple players drafted by NFL clubs: